Retribution
by MysticFortuneCookie
Summary: -Di-Gata Defenders- A blind assassin seeks her revenge on her parents' killers... the Di-Gata Defenders! OC heavy. Rated T for violence, etc. -Just to be safe
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Check it out! I finally got around to doing this! I DEFY YOU, HIGH-SCHOOL HOMEWORK!! :D

Okay, apologies in advance... I haven't written anything substantial in like... a year. I'm still getting back into the swing of it, so I'm still a bit rusty...

Anyhoo, hope you like!

Disclaimer: I don't own Di-Gata Defenders. But I do own Liora!! -ownership dance!- :D

**Chapter 1**

He was still about fifteen paces from where she was. The guy sure was taking his own sweet time.

The girl shifted her weight, briefly relieving her stiff legs. She was in a foul mood, and sitting around waiting for this man, from her rather uncomfortable position in the crook of a tree, was beginning to grind on her last nerves. A powerful temptation to simply annihilate the man and be done with it washed over her, but curiosity held her back. Something about his message had intrigued her. Firstly, she had been summoned by name - which meant either the man or his employer had connections within the Guild. It was rare that an assassin's name would be shared with an outsider. However, what had really captured the girl's attention was his reference to her possible assignment as "the most challenging, and rewarding task you shall ever receive". Surely if her potential employer knew her name, he knew of her great achievements for the Guild, and would not throw the term "challenging" around lightly. And the idea of a true challenge was intoxicating. Besides, she thought with a grim smirk, the Guild would have her head if she knocked off a paying customer.

The man was finally approaching the petrified tree stump that had been chosen for their meeting place. The girl pressed her body against her own tree, feeling for the minuscule vibrations created by the man's footsteps. It often amazed the girl how much could be told just from feeling the way a man walks. This man had an awkward gait, and the girl could feel the swift thumping of his heartbeat when his feet connected with the ground. She guessed that the man was older, fairly short with a lean, almost gangly build. More importantly though, the man was nervous.

The footsteps stopped and the girl could hear a rustling of parchment as the man cleared his throat with a wheezing cough.

"Dako, altas, sum. Sum, altas, nega." The man read in a shrill, whiny voice.

A password was a necessary precaution that was standard for members of the Red Guild. These were usually hand-delivered by an apprentice assassin to the employer, to be read upon reaching the place designated for the meeting. The man's password was correct, and the girl gladly swung down from her hiding place, landing on the balls of her moccasined feet as nimbly as a cat.

She sensed the man jump, apparently startled by her sudden entrance, and had to conceal a smile of bemused satisfaction. The man quickly composed himself and went straight to business.

"Liora? Assassin of the Red Guild?"

His voice had an annoying nasal twang to it. The girl answered simply.

"Yes."

Now, in closer proximity to the man, the girl could better evaluate him. She could immediately sense a strong infinis presence, however his inner energy seemed restless and changing. Liora quickly pegged him as a man whose loyalty lay with the highest bidder. This man was obviously not her employer, but a messenger sent in his place. This was not at all uncommon, as people with power were naturally wary of people in her profession, and it was a show of good faith to have the messenger unescorted by a guard. The girl allowed herself a wry grin. She wondered if the messenger knew that.

The man had apparently been appraising her as well. He spoke in a huffy tone, "Well, you're not _quite_ what I was expecting."

"Looks are deceiving." Liora snapped.

"Still, I wasn't told I'd be putting this assignment in the hands of a blind child." He waved his hand in front of her face to make his point.

In one swift motion, Liora snatched his hand out of the air. She listened with pleasure while the man let out a yelp of pain as his hand made an audible crunch.

"Just because I can't see, doesn't make me blind." She hissed through clenched teeth.

"Okay, okay! You've made your point, now release me!" The man shrieked.

Liora released his hand, not without a hint of contempt, and crossed her arms, waiting.

The man took a moment to nurse his injured hand, then brushed off his cloak and made an effort to regain his composure. "Well now, if we could get down to business!"

The girl motioned to the petrified stump and walked in step with the man, finally bending down to kneel on opposite sides of the stump.

The man cleared his throat again. "I expect you've heard of the Di-Gata Defenders."

The question startled Liora. However, her training instinctively took over, and she managed to hide her feelings behind a cool mask of indifference.

"Everyone's heard of them. So what? What are you getting at?" She could feel her heart begin to beat just a bit faster.

"What I offer is the chance to go down in history..." The man leaned closer, Liora could feel his breath on her face, "...as the assassin who brought down the Di-Gata Defenders!"

The girl's heart skipped a beat.

"Well, do we have a deal?"

Liora wanted more than anything to just say yes. To jump on top of the stump, throw back her head, and laugh for all of Rados to hear. So many times she had dreamed of this. So many times had she been refused her revenge. Now her chance lay in the palm of her hand. Justice would finally be served. The thought sent a sweet chill up her spine.

However, she knew the game this man was up to, and wasn't going to be taken as a fool.

"We'll see, after we talk about how much this is going to cost you."

She heard the man grumble and smiled in spite of herself.

"Very well."

Liora heard the familiar clinking of stones as the man retrieved a bulging canvas sack from beneath his cloak. He threw the sack on the stump.

The girl reached forward and untied the rough twine around the opening of the sack. She could already sense ten booster stones, and the unmistakable energy signature of a warrior stone. Liora wrinkled her nose. While the presence of a warrior stone was impressive, it was still a bit less than she would have expected as payment for destroying five Defenders. She would, of course, have been happy for an excuse to eliminate the Di-Gata Defenders at any price, but she knew she was obligated to look out for the best interests of the Guild.

"Your payment's a bit low." She said icily as she pocketed the stones. "I thought your letter said this would be the most rewarding task I would ever receive."

"Yes, and it will be. You will receive the second part of your reward once the Di-Gata Defenders have been destroyed."

Liora frowned. She didn't like working under these kinds of terms as a rule, and was especially uncomfortable with the thought of putting her trust in this slippery little man. "And how do I know you'll follow through? What kind of reward am I supposed to expect?"

"I'm assured it's to be the very best kind." He pulled a stone out of his cloak and held it out to her. "Do you know what this is?"

Liora took the stone and examined it. It's energy signature was unfamiliar to her. A troubled frown creased her brow. She ran her fingers along the surface of the stone. The sigil too, was unfamiliar to her. She put the stone on the stump and pushed it back to the man. Something about the stone's energy just seemed... dark. Wrong, somehow.

"What kind of stone is that? I've never come across that sigil before." She tried to keep her voice even, but something about the stone had shaken her, and she could hear her voice waver.

"That is your reward. The secrets of the most powerful sigil Rados has ever seen, yours to control."

Liora sat silently, her sightless eyes transfixed on the stone sitting so innocently on the stump. She could not deny that the sigil was powerful, and despite her reservations on the nature of the sigil, it's power called to her. The temptation was too much for her to resist.

"Well? Do we have a deal or not?" The man whined, tapping his fingers impatiently.

She had made her decision. Whether it was a fair trade or not paled in comparison to the fact that this man was offering her what could be her only chance to destroy the Defenders once and for all. She stood up and bowed ceremoniously.

"I accept your offer. Your enemies will fall." Flashing a wicked grin, she turned and disappeared into the brush.

--

The man stood up from the stump and threw back his hood. "Well, thank goodness _that_ ordeal is over with."

Standing up rather awkwardly, he turned back the way he had come. He could feel the tension that had been pressing down on him melt away with every step he took away from the meeting place. He had been dreading going down to meet the assassin, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock to the system that was Liora. Those eyes, blind, yet somehow not... it was simply unnatural. The man's nerves had nearly been frazzled away to nothing during their brief time together.

"Flinch!"

The man almost jumped out of his skin.

"Flinch, report!"

The man rummaged around the inside of his cloak, finally finding his communicator. He punched the receive button to see the holographic image of Malco's head, looking quite unimpressed.

"Honestly Malco, you nearly gave me a heart-attack!" Flinch whined irritably.

"Did the girl accept her assignment?"

"'Gee Flinch, I'm sorry... I should really make an effort to be less rude and obnoxious toward-'"

"FLINCH!"

Flinch winced. "All right, all right. Yes, the girl accepted her assignment. Happy?"

Malco smiled. "Excellent."

The connection terminated and the image of Malco disappeared. Flinch stuffed the disk back into his cloak huffily. "Never so much as a 'thank-you'..."

--

Malco watched as the communicator slid shut. He grinned. Today was turning out to be a good day.

"I still object to this. I could handle the brats myself."

Malco looked over his shoulder at Lady K'Tash, standing with her arms crossed, a dangerous look on her face.

"I didn't mean to bruise your ego, Lady."

K'Tash shot him a withering look.

Malco continued, unperturbed. "Have no fear K'Tash, I do not underestimate your skill. I have far more important business for you to attend to than the Di-Gata Defenders. The assassin is simply to make your work a bit less... contested."

K'Tash was not yet convinced. "And what was the purpose of showing the girl the sigil of Al-Mortiguar?"

Malco suddenly seemed weary. "We both know that this body was only meant to be temporary. I feel it weakening with each passing day." He paused. "I cannot inhabit this body much longer. I need a new host."

Lady K'Tash understood at once.

The possessed Malco's mouth twisted into a dark grin. "If the assassin succeeds, she will receive the greatest reward imaginable. The honor of being my new host."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Okay, I decided to keep this chapter a little shorter... there were other reasons, but mostly because I think the next chapter's gonna be a doosie, and I thought I should give you guys a bit of a break in between X)

Hope you like!

**Chapter2**

"A dakosite trader, huh?"

"That's what I said." Liora snapped, reaching under her straw mattress. Her fingers groped around, searching for a familiar shape, but found nothing. She fumed. "What did you do with my guardian stone, Elriin!"

Elriin's response was heavily laced with mock innocence. "I didn't do anything with it. While your stuck here anyway, why don't we talk more about this 'trader' you've been hired to take care of."

Liora grit her teeth. "I told you everything there is to tell. What's so special about some dakosite trader?"

"The fact that you're so reluctant to talk about it." Liora could sense the smirk on his face. "And you haven't even given me my cut yet."

Liora wanted to kick herself. As her guardian and mentor, Elriin was entitled to fifty percent of her earnings, after the automatic fifty percent that went to the Guild. She knew that keeping her payment to herself would have aroused Elriin's suspicion, but she didn't dare show him the full amount either. Despite his shortcomings, Elriin was an intelligent man, and would quickly figure out what she was hiding.

Elriin snatched the satchel hanging at her side, and Liora reacted instinctively, grabbing his arm. She realized her mistake as soon as she had committed the action. Gingerly, she released his arm.

Elriin sounded triumphant. "Well, someone doesn't want me looking at their stones! Now why is that, Liora?" He overturned the satchel and Liora could hear the stones clatter onto the wooden floorboards. She heard him inhale sharply and cringed inwardly. This was it. Now he would know.

She sensed him pick up the warrior stone. "A dakosite trader. And who would pay you this much for destroying a mere dakosite trader, Liora?"

Liora swallowed hard. Her throat was suddenly dry. "Another trader, he wanted his competition out of the way."

"Is that so? Shame... there is just no honest business done anymore."

Liora thought he might just leave it at that, but a moment later she felt his large hand wrap around her arm and pull her roughly toward him.

"You and I both know a trader wouldn't spend these kind of stones to eliminate a competitor!" He shook the warrior stone in front of her face. Liora shrank back.

"Tell me who you were hired to destroy!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"That's not for you to decide!"

"Let go of me!"

"By all of Rados, Liora, if you don't start being straight with me-"

"The Defenders!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "He hired me to destroy the Di-Gata Defenders!" She felt hot tears slide down her cheek, beyond her control. The girl trembled with rage. She hated when things were beyond her control, and found herself cursing the Defenders once more for bringing up these untamable feelings.

Elriin's stance seemed to change dramatically. Stranger still, she could sense something that might have been compassion flicker in his soul.

"Liora..."

"No! Don't say anything! Just give me my guardian stone!"

She lunged for him, snatching at his satchel like a maniac. However, Elriin was stronger, and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders, pulling her off him. Liora scratched at his arms, yelling and cursing him hysterically, but Elriin held her firm. Finally realizing her actions were futile, she gave up. A choked sob escaped her lips.

"They killed my parents, Elriin. You know how long I've waited for my chance to return the favor. You're not taking this away from me."

Elriin spoke, but now his voice was tinted with something that Liora could almost swear was guilt. "Liora, listen to me now. Accepting this assignment was a mistake. You need to give it to someone else."

"You're just worried I'll fail. That I won't come back. That you can kiss your fifty percent of my earnings good-bye..."

"Listen to reason, Liora! Look at yourself, you can't handle this assignment! The cardinal rule of the assassin is to not get personally involved. When you get personally involved, you let your emotions interfere with your judgement. You start taking unnecessary risks. Liora, you start making mistakes."

Liora hung her head, letting her body go limp in Elriin's strong grasp. She felt so tired, so drained. Destroying the Defenders was all she had ever wanted, since the very start of her training as an assassin, it was what had propelled her forward. Many nights she had snuck out of her hut to sit in the treetops, imagining how she would track them down, and the terror that would illuminate their faces as she told them what she knew they'd done, just before the killing stroke. Now it was all dissolving right out of her very hands. She knew Elriin was right, but couldn't bring herself to face the thought of a life of planning flying from her grasp.

Elriin seemed to sense her turmoil and, in a rare act of humanity, held her close. Liora allowed herself to dry her tears on his shoulder. This was the man buried beneath the years of training, whom Liora had glimpsed when she was much younger and in need of someone to look up to. This was the part of him that made him more than a mentor, a father figure. Of course, Liora would hardly admit this to herself, never mind Elriin. But it was during moments like this that Liora almost allowed herself to believe that her guardian cared for her, and not just her earnings.

But it wasn't enough. Before Elriin could react, Liora had slipped her hand into the satchel hanging under his arm, and retrieved her guardian stone. Elriin reached for it, but Liora was close to him now, and delivered two precise blows to his head.

Liora heard Elriin moan, and a great thump as he fell to the floor. She paused over him for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Elriin. This is my chance, and no one is going to stop me from taking it." She retrieved her satchel, placed her guardian stone under the flap, and slung it over her shoulder. Then, without another word, she walked out into the sunlight.

As Liora emerged from the hut, she was suddenly hit with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She realized with a start that she may never come back to this place. There was a very real possibility that she might fall in her confrontation with the Defenders. After all, the Di-Gata Defenders were trained in the mastery of stone casting from an early age. Their casting would be a far cry from that of an unscrupulous merchant or a man who had neglected to pay back a loan. Liora squared her shoulders. This was the risk that came with her job. An assassin never knew when and if they would return, and this was no different. Still, Liora allowed herself to let her hand linger on the door of the only home she ever knew a moment longer. At last she collected herself, and with a stony expression set on her face, strode into the dense forest. The Defenders would pay for every drop of blood they drew with their own, and Liora would be the one to execute this justice.

A sadistic grin crossed her face. And she was going to enjoy every minute of it.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Whoops, sorry for the delay... I thought I posted this chapter already...

Disclaimer: Di-Gata Defenders belongs to Greg. Liora belongs to me.

...Wanna trade? :)

**Chapter 3**

Seth woke up groggily to the piercing shriek of an alarm. Stumbling out of bed, he grabbed his stones and staggered, still half-asleep, to the door. When he emerged from behind the door, he found Eric already lumbering down the hallway in the direction of the control room.

"Eric! Where's the attack coming from?" Seth shouted above the din.

Eric skid to a halt and turned around, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouted back, "It's not the dojo's alarm system, it's an emergency transmission coming through! We've got to get to the control room before we lose the signal!" He made a large gesture in the direction he had been going.

Seth nodded. "You go ahead and work on receiving that signal! I'm going to get Mel and Rion!" The alarm was beginning to give him a pounding headache.

As Eric ran off to the control room, Seth went down in the opposite direction. Coming to Rion's door, he pounded unceremoniously and shouted through the wood, "Shortstone! Control room, pronto!"

Seth had to take a quick step back to avoid being hit by the door. Rion stood with his tired eyes squeezed shut, his arms wrapped around himself grumpily. He gave Seth a withering look, slammed the door shut behind him and tramped off down the hall.

Seth couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched the young Defender walk off. Though he often teased Rion mercilessly, he felt an almost sibling-like attachment toward him. Though Seth would never admit it, he regarded Rion as the younger brother he never had.

The leader of the Di-Gata Defenders then turned to look at the final door. He frowned. It was odd that Mel hadn't woken up yet. As the Defender who was usually the most sensitive and receptive of the group, he would have thought a wailing alarm would have had her up and at the control room already. He hesitantly walked up to her door and rapped on it lightly. No response. Seth could feel a lump rising in his throat. Something wasn't right. He knocked louder. Still nothing. He pounded even harder. "Mel! Mel, are you okay in there?" He pressed his ear against the door. To his horror, he heard a muffled shriek, barely audible over the alarm.

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. "Hang on, Mel! I'm coming in!" He ran at the door, throwing his weight against it with his shoulder. After two attempts, Seth was finally rewarded for his efforts. The wood around the lock splintered, and the door gave way with a groaning creak. Seth walked into the room cautiously, stones in hand. The alarm had now stopped, thankfully, and Seth's headache was finally ebbing away. Eric must have successfully received the signal. Seth allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. To his relief, he saw no one else in the room but Mel, sprawled across her bed. She was tossing violently back and forth, muttering meaningless gibberish. Another choked scream burst from her lips. Seth's initial relief at finding Mel safe evaporated. He shoved his stones back into their pouch and rushed over to the wizard girl. He grabbed her by the shoulders, fighting to stop her wild thrashing about. "Mel! It's me! You're having a nightmare, wake up!"

--

It was horrible.

Melosa could feel the girl's hatred bubbling inside her like molten magma. She couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe. Mel fell to her knees, gasping for breath. It was consuming her. Her body felt like it was on fire. She tried to scream, but she heard nothing. Her head was pounding. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. "Why are you doing this?" She screamed.

Through the pain, Mel could scarcely see the figure of a young girl. The girl grinned menacingly, her strange eyes filled with a look of gleeful bloodlust that chilled Mel to the bone.

"You will pay for what you have done."

"I don't understand! I haven't done anything!" Mel clutched at her head. The pounding was increasing.

The barely discernable figure of the girl only continued smiling.

"Murderer."

A fresh wave of pain hit Mel. All at once she felt like her entire body was burning from the inside out. She screamed and collapsed on the ground.

_Mel! It's me!_

Mel opened her eyes with difficulty. Seth?

_You're having a nightmare! Wake up!_

Mel shut her eyes again. Could this only be a dream? The girl, the pain... it was all so real. She felt helpless, like she couldn't escape. She shuddered. She didn't want to fight it. She just wanted it all to go away...

_Wake up!_

Suddenly, Mel could almost feel Seth's hands on her shoulders. Mel reopened her eyes. She wasn't alone. The knowledge that one of her friends was near gave her strength. With a tremendous amount of effort she stood up shakily. She lifted her head to the sky. She wasn't afraid. This wasn't real. She was in the dojo, and she had a friend close by watching over her.

Slowly, the scene in front of her began to fade, disappearing like a black smoke in the wind. The pain disappeared. She was free.

--

Seth watched Mel's face anxiously. She didn't seem to be responding, and had suddenly gone deathly still. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead like dew. He wanted to call to Eric or Rion for help, but couldn't bring himself to leave Melosa in the state she was in. Finally, the wizard's eyes fluttered open and she gave him a tired smile. Seth's breathing returned to a normal rate. She was okay. He suddenly realized he was still holding her shoulders and quickly released her, standing up briskly as he did so.

"We need to get over to the control room. An emergency transmission just came in."

Mel looked crestfallen. "Seth, I think I need to talk to you about my dream first." She hugged herself. "It was so horrible."

Seth was immediately sorry. Mel was always a bit sensitive after one of her dreams, and he had been too brusque towards her. His expression softened. "I want you to tell me all about it Mel, but our responsibility to the citizens of Rados has to come first. Whoever's on the other end of that transmission is in trouble, and we have to help them. We can talk after, okay?"

Mel nodded submissively. She stood up from the bed and headed for the hallway. She stopped suddenly at the entrance.

"Seth... what did you do to my door?"

--

When Seth and Mel arrived at the control room, Eric and Rion were already waiting. Rion put his hands on his hips irritably. "What took you guys so long? Whatever happened to 'control room, pronto!'?"

"Knock it off, guys!" Eric called over his shoulder. He was tinkering with the knobs of the dojo's receiver, trying to maintain the signal. "The transmission isn't coming in well, there's too much interference to get a clear message."

"Keep trying." Seth leaned over the control panel and flicked on their own transmitter. "We've gotten your transmission, where are you? Can you hear me?"

A voice answered over the dojo's receiver, crackling with static. "This... Di-... Defenders?" The voice was barely discernable, but it sounded feminine.

"We're getting through!" Eric exclaimed triumphantly.

Seth returned to the transmitter. "Yes, we're the Di-Gata Defenders. Where are you? What happened?"

"Sigil cruiser... carrying shipment of... robbed by bandits... stranded... Yantos outskirts... near Altamor border... by... river... Hurry!"

The signal broke off. Eric looked down at the receiver, trying frantically to regain the signal. Finally he gave up. "It's no use. It must have cut out at their end."

Seth nodded and turned off the transmitter. "There's only one river that's near the Altamor border in Yantos. We have a good idea of where to look for them."

"That's at least a day's journey from here on our sigil stormers." Rion pointed out, concern showing in his voice. "Do you think they'll be alright for that long?"

Seth looked out the window at the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. "We'll have to hope so." He replied grimly.

Mel, unnoticed, said nothing. Though the transmission had been fuzzy and barely understandable, she had a chilling feeling creeping up her spine that the voice seemed familiar.

--

Liora tucked the transmitter under her short cloak. The woods skirting the outskirts of Yantos were peaceful, save the rushing of the river and the occasional call of a wild animal. She smiled. Tomorrow the Di-Gata Defenders would meet their end at the hand of the daughter of those they destroyed.

The pure poetic justice left a sweet taste in her mouth as she turned over to sleep for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Okay, I lied. The last chapter wasn't that long XD I decided to break it into two chapters instead.

Yay! We've got the actual Defenders in the story now! (Only took me two chapters...)

As always, hope you like!

Disclaimer: The Di-Gata Defenders belong to the all-powerful Mr. Collinson. (Still open for that trade, though ;D )

**Chapter 4**

Seth rode in silence, listening to the mechanical hum of his sigil stormer mingling with the natural sounds of the Yantos forest. The rest of the Defenders rode behind their leader, Melosa and Rion coming up a short distance behind Seth with Eric bringing up the rear, completing the defensive diamond formation.

Seth gripped the handlebars of his stormer tightly, his face set in deep lines. They had left the dojo almost immediately after they had received the emergency transmission, but not before Mel had quietly taken him aside and told him the contents of her dream. He shivered. It had been by far one of the most disturbing dreams she had ever shared with him. He had immediately felt miserably ashamed that he had brushed it off so quickly. When Seth had asked how the girl gained access to her mind, Mel had simply shaken her head. _I don't think she was actually there, or knew I was seeing her._ She had told him, _It wasn't like that. She was completely unresponsive... I think I was just picking up on strong thoughts. Very strong thoughts, hostile towards us. I think it was the connection to us that made me receive them._ Seth frowned. It was their unknown connection to this girl that bothered him. Someone wanted to harm at least one of the Defenders, and they had no idea who or why. The situation was frustrating.

The trees were getting thicker. Seth cut the engine on his stormer and dismounted. The other Defenders halted. Seth lifted off his helmet, welcoming the cool breeze that immediately hit his face. "We go on foot from here. There's not enough room for the stormers through those trees."

His companions nodded and stowed their transportation in the dense foliage on either side of the thin dirt trail. Seth turned toward the forest. He could hear the faint rumbling of a fast-moving river. They were on the right track. Seth sucked in a deep breath. In truth, they had no idea what they would find here. The bandits' attack could have left their victim wounded, without shelter or supplies. A person could only last so long under such conditions. Seth could only hope they weren't already too late.

--

Liora sat cross-legged on the forest floor, a shallow wooden bowl resting in her lap. The girl pried a piece of rough, mossy bark from the trunk of a dead tree and threw it into the bowl. Taking a rounded stone, she worked at crushing the bark into a fine powder. She had been doing this for most of the day, and her bowl was now nearly three-quarters full of the powdered bark. Finally satisfied, she concealed the bowl underneath a low-hanging shrub, and swiftly ascended a nearby tree. Liora pulled out a small stone vial, checking to make sure the contents were still intact. It was an old assassin's trick that had been taught to her by Elriin himself. The liquid held in the vial, once put in contact with the powdered bark, would produce a thick white steam. The steam looked deceptively similar to a normal fog, and it was a popular technique for unnerving or distracting one's target. Liora looked up at the sun sinking low in the sky. The Defenders' dojo was located nearly a day's journey from her position, so if they had been swift to respond to her transmission, they could very well be arriving any time.

Liora had stopped being afraid many hours ago. As with many previous assignments, she found that as soon as she began making the preparations for her attack the fear simply melted away. She no longer had any doubts. She would destroy the Defenders here or be destroyed in the attempt. She took out her guardian stone.

"Mini Noctorn." She whispered.

The stone spun in the air for only a moment before releasing the miniature guardian. The bat-like creature spread his shrunken wings and found himself a sturdy branch above his master. Liora smiled at the presence of her guardian's di-gata energy and reached up to stroke the beast's mane. The guardian let out a low cooing as his master brushed her thin fingers through his spiny fur. Liora's heart glowed. This rough-looking creature was the only thing on Rados that the girl truly, openly loved. Given to her by the Red Guild after the successful completion of her first assignment, he had grown to become a large and irreplaceable part of her life. They shared a unique understanding of each other, both being blind and both using the cards life had dealt them to their own advantage. They were fighters. Liora could remember many times when her guardian had played a crucial part in the success of her work. He was her safeguard. If something went wrong, it was up to him and his fearsomely sharp teeth and talons to save her. She hoped this time it would be enough.

A sudden movement of di-gata energy assailed her senses. She concentrated on it, and her lips curled into a wicked grin. She scratched the underside of Noctorn's chin.

"They're here."

--

Melosa walked behind the others, her eyes searching half-heartedly for a person she didn't know if she wanted to find. It was silly of course, that she should think that a barely audible message in an emergency transmission sounded similar to the monster from her dream, and when she thought about some poor Radosian sitting in the forest waiting for help, she felt horribly guilty. Still, she could not completely shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

Rion's voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Mel, you okay? You've been really quiet lately."

Mel flushed. She hadn't realized it had been so noticeable. "Yes, I'm fine... just a bit spooked by the woods, I guess."

Rion nodded. He grinned playfully. "Well, don't worry Mel. You've got all of us to protect you..."

Mel gave him a lighthearted shove. "More like the other way around!" But his assurance still made her feel a bit better.

Rion stopped suddenly, his cloak caught on a bramble. He let out an irritated groan. "Not again! This is the third time!" He tugged at it, trying to loosen the thorns' grip on him. "There's hardly enough room to walk around here without getting caught on something!"

Mel started to laugh, but her laughter quickly died in her throat. Rion was right. Her eyes widened in sudden realization. She grabbed Rion's cloak and tore it off of the brambles, ripping the fabric as she did so. Rion opened his mouth in protest, but Mel was off before he could say anything.

When Mel reached Seth at the front of the group she was breathless, more from anxiety than the actual run. She tugged urgently at his arm. "Seth, stop for a second!"

He turned around, giving her a startled look. "What is it, Mel?"

Mel looked up into his face. It suddenly struck her that he seemed older than his age. The pressure of being their leader had aged him tremendously over the last year and a half, and his eyes now had a sad knowing look about them. He was no longer the cocky, unruly boy that had first set out to lead them in their quest for the Purestones. He had been forced to give up his youth too soon, they all had. But looking at the way it had changed Seth suddenly made her very sad.

"I need to talk to you, right now."

His expression softened. "Is this about your dream again?"

Mel shook her head forcefully. "No, maybe, I'm not sure."

"Then what is it?"

Mel frowned. "How wide is this trail?"

The question caught him by surprise. "Why do you-?"

Mel repeated herself, gritting her teeth. "How - wide - is - this - trail!"

"I don't know... maybe a pace or two across? What's gotten into you, Mel?"

"Wide enough for a sigil cruiser?"

Seth fell silent. His eyes went wide as the unsettling thought dawned on him. "A sigil cruiser would never try to go through this route..."

"Hey guys!" Mel heard Eric's voice behind her. "Would you get a load of this fog coming in?"

--

Liora looked on hungrily from her perch, concealed beneath the wide green leaves the tree's branches provided. She could sense them, four of them. Her initial shock at the young age of the Defenders had worn off. Of course these wouldn't be the same Defenders who destroyed her parents those many years ago, but they were of the same breed, cut from the same mold. She wouldn't be surprised if they were the very children of the previous Defenders themselves. Liora would take great pleasure in destroying the children of the Defenders who took away her family.

Their energy signatures were staggeringly strong. She could almost tell what their faces looked like from the pictures the energy painted in her mind. She felt a shiver of thrill. She would be able to see the anguish on their faces as she destroyed them. Liora probed their energies further. The smallest of the group was influenced by the sigils of altas and nega, and had a fiery streak to his personality that she could sense even from her distance. Next was a young man, influenced by ogama and infinis, and a young woman. Liora narrowed her eyes. A wizard of Yan, kin to those who had cast the devastating spell of binding. She would take special delight in destroying her. At last Liora came to the final Defender. She could sense immediately that he was the leader, it showed in his aura. Influenced by the dako and nega sigils, she knew that he would be one that would be quick to act. However, she could also sense that experience had made him cautious. He would be a worthy adversary.

And he would go first.

Liora had been hired to destroy groups before, and she had learned that the quickest way to destroy a group was to destroy their leader. Without their leader, a group fell apart at the seams, falling into uncoordinated chaos. From there, Liora's job was easy.

Her man-made fog was beginning to thicken around the Defenders below her. She smiled wryly. While the fog would practically incapacitate her opponents, it was absolutely no hindrance for Liora. Lacking the use of her eyes anyway, she could simply continue on as normal while her sightless victims floundered in the fog. She slid down from her tree, landing silently on the grassy earth. She crept toward her prey without so much as a sound to give away her presence.

--

Seth could barely see his hand in front of his face. He had lost Mel somewhere in the fog, and was now alone. He knew the others were probably near enough to reach out and touch, but being unable to see them was unnerving. He didn't like the situation, and a small voice in the back of his mind was screaming that they had just walked into an ambush. He thought about Mel's dream. _Please..._ he found himself thinking, _don't let it be that._

He suddenly felt a hand on his arm. "Mel?" He had thought that Mel was at his other side when he lost sight of her, but the fog had interfered with his sense of direction, and he may have turned around without knowing it. The hand tugged his sleeve urgently. Seth complied, following the insistent tugging. He stumbled blindly through the fog, pushing through bushes and low-hanging branches. He felt scraped and bruised, and wondered how Mel was finding her way so easily through the fog. "Where are we going? What about the others?"

There was no answer from the hand pulling on his arm. Finally, he burst through a thick shrub to find himself in what felt like a small clearing. The rushing of the river was louder now, and Seth figured that the clearing must be situated on the river's bank. The hand released his arm. Seth squinted. Here, the fog seemed to be a bit thinner. Using his hand, he fanned away some of the fog from in front of his face. In front of him, he could just make out a shadowy figure silhouetted in the fog. "Mel? Is that you?" Seth looked hard at the silhouette, and suddenly realized that figure was about a head shorter than Mel should have been. A lump rose in his throat, and his hand groped for his stones. "Who are you?"

"The last person you will ever see."

--

Mel couldn't see anything. She hugged herself, squeezing her eyes shut. She wished this was just another dream, and that she would just wake up to find herself in her own bed with a concerned friend by her side. Unfortunately, she knew she wasn't dreaming. This was real, and now her friends had disappeared from her. She looked around fearfully, half expecting the girl from her dream to emerge from the fog at any minute.

"Mel?"

It was Seth's voice. Mel almost collapsed with relief. "Seth? I'm over here!"

But there was no answer. Mel's throat was dry. Something was definitely wrong. She inched her way around the thin trail, searching for one of her friends. She found a bush first. She hadn't been expecting it, and nearly fell right into the thick branches. She steadied herself, taking a step to keep her balance. Her foot connected with something hard.

Curious, Mel bent down to see what she had discovered. She held it close to her face to examine it, feeling its shape with her hands. It appeared to be a roughly carved wooden bowl, filled with a kind of sawdust or powder. More importantly, however, fog was spilling from the bowl like a pot of water that was boiling over. Mel caught her breath. This was no accident.

"Eric! Eric, where are you!" She shouted, gripping the bowl tightly in her hands.

"Mel? Over here!"

She almost ran right into his bulky frame. Rion was beside him, clutching his belt to keep from getting lost in the fog again. Eric grinned. "There you are! I found Rion, where's Seth?"

"I don't know. I heard him, but then..." She shrugged uneasily. "I need you to take a look at something I found."

"Fire away."

Mel handed him the bowl. Eric examined it for a moment, scanned the contents with his gauntlet, and read over the data. "Hah! I knew it!"

"Knew what? Do you know who made it?" Mel tried to keep the impatience out of her voice, but the swirling cover of the fog was unnerving.

"This is an old method, discovered a couple hundred years ago. The bark is ground into small particles, then mixed with an acidic liquid to create a chemical reaction, producing a steam. By grinding the bark into a powder, the surface area is increased, thus allowing the reaction to increase in intensity quickly, which is why the fog came on so fast. I've heard of these before, but I've never actually seen one. Look at it, isn't it cool?" He flashed a grin.

Mel frowned. "Yes, that's all fascinating Eric, but _who makes these_?"

"The secret of the chemical reaction is passed down from generation to generation. I've only ever heard of it being used by entertainers... but I think traditionally it's an old assassin's trick. Some thieves use it too I think..."

Mel paled. An assassin? A thief? She wished she knew where Seth was.

Rion snatched the bowl from Eric's hands. "Well I for one am sick of this stuff!" He overturned the bowl, letting it's contents spill out onto the ground. He spread the powdered bark across the ground, kicking it with his feet.

"Rion! I wasn't done looking at that!" Eric protested.

The fog was already beginning to clear, slowly. Mel sighed, relieved. It was over. All they needed now was to find Seth, get on their sigil stormers, and leave this place. She looked around. She could begin to see the trail now, but Seth was still nowhere to be found.

"Hey, wait a second... do you guys hear that?" Rion spoke up suddenly.

Eric looked up, squinting, straining his ears. "Sounds like..."

"...Stone casts." Mel finished, her voice barely above a whisper.

--

Liora jumped out of the path of the Defender's cast. The attack nicked the back of her elbow, but didn't connect further, instead sailing past her and digging deep into the thick trunk of a tree. Liora glared at him, ignoring the sting of her fresh cut while preparing her stones for another cast. Spinning Doom. She'd remember that one.

She found herself frustratingly evenly matched with the Defender. It seemed that when either of them gained some ground, the other would fight their way back. Both of their shields were now exhausted, the stones now sitting powerless and useless in their pockets. It was a game of chicken now. Luckily, in this Liora had the slight advantage. The fog had cleared now, so the Defender could see her clearly, but Liora could sense the stones he was carrying, and was slowly learning each of his attacks. The ones she recognized she could properly prepare for before they were cast. Finding the stones she required from her satchel, she made quick aim and cast for her opponent.

"Blinding Truth!"

She could sense the Defender stagger back, shielding his face from the blinding flash of condensed light. Finally seeing her opening, she seized another fistful of stones and cast again.

"Blade of Illumination!" Her face glowed with a sadistic grin. This was it.

--

Seth staggered back, covering his face with his arm to block out the light. He was breathing heavily. He knew he was fighting for his very life, but it was almost as if the girl with the strange eyes could predict what he was going to cast. Even more worrisome, was the nagging realization in the back of his mind that his stones would soon be completely drained.

"Blade of Illumination!"

Seth didn't have time to react. Still dazed from the incredible burst of light, he couldn't see the trajectory of the glowing blade until it was too late. The blade came down upon him, hissing as it spun through the air. Seth had only seconds before it would bury itself deep into his chest, and he reacted out of instinct. He thrust his mechanical arm up between him and the blade. The blade bit into the hard metal, cutting deep, but stopped there. Seth struggled back up, ripping the blade out of his mechanical arm. He looked down at the damage. Using his mechanical arm to stop the blade had probably saved his life, but the cut had severed several major circuits, and the arm was now useless. He grit his teeth. He couldn't cast.

The girl seemed to realize this, and grinned wider, reaching once more into her satchel. All at once her grin fell, her expression changing to irritation. Seth smiled. Her stones were drained as well.

This didn't seem to faze the girl, however. Unexpectedly, she lifted her arms into the air and called out into the forest.

"Noctorn! Show yourself!"

Seth watched, but she didn't cast a guardian stone. He was mystified. What did she think she was doing?

All at once, he found out. With a screech, a miniaturized creature with a striking bat-like form burst from the thick canopy of trees above him. There was a wild look in the guardian's eyes, and its lips curled up to reveal a pair of sharp, gleaming fangs. The creature lunged for him, emitting a series of high-pitched shrieks. Seth dove to the ground, the guardian's talons snapping at the empty air. He had avoided the first attack, but, as Seth suddenly realized, he was now completely vulnerable to a second. With a grunt, he struggled to pick himself up, the added weight of his damaged mechanical arm making the task far more difficult than it should have been. Seth heard a second series of piercing shrieks, and turned around, heaving his mechanical arm like a club, to swing at the creature bearing down upon him. The creature spread its wings, slowing itself just in time to miss Seth's strike. After letting the swing pass, the guardian dove again, this time reaching its target.

Seth felt a sharp, burning pain as the creature's fangs sunk deep into the flesh of his shoulder. He cried out, using his good hand to pull at the guardian's spiny fur, attempting to pry the creature off him. The guardian held on, scratching at Seth's arm with its talons in retaliation. The pain in Seth's arm was worsening. It was as if his shoulder was on fire.

"Enough, Noctorn. Return to me."

The beast obeyed, releasing Seth to return to its guardian stone. Seth's knees suddenly felt weak. His mechanical arm was practically destroyed, his good arm riddled with gashes, and his shoulder was burning with an unbearable pain. The sudden realization that he would soon be destroyed hit him like a lightning strike. He was losing blood quickly from the long cuts in his arm, and felt light-headed. Somewhere deep in his heart, he knew he could fight this girl no further. He dropped to his knees, no longer able to stand.

--

Liora watched with satisfaction as the Defender collapsed onto the ground, his face twisted in pain. She had never actually seen pain so clearly before, and it intrigued her. She walked toward the Defender, stopping to casually pick up her guardian stone before coming to stand in front of him. She had won, and it was time for her to destroy the loser. She was grateful that she had decided to release her guardian in his miniaturized form, instead of allowing him to attack the Defender at his full size. Her lips parted in a crooked grin. There might not have been anything left of him for her to destroy.

She heard the fallen Defender groan as he tried feebly to pick himself up. She smiled and kicked him onto his back, grinding her foot down firmly on top of his chest. The Defender was obviously in pain, but Liora was surprised to sense a rebellious fire still flickering in his eyes. Most Radosians would reduce themselves to begging her for their lives at this point. No matter. She extended her arms, curling her fingers precisely in preparation for her killing strike. She felt a sudden surge of emotions rush through her. She was about to destroy her first Defender, and avenge her fallen parents. She trembled with a heartbroken rage.

"I bring you pain, for the pain you've caused others." She pushed her foot down harder on his chest, feeling his rib cage creak under the pressure. Her blind eyes burned with the rage of a lifetime of hatred. "And I bring you your own destruction, for all you've destroyed." She coiled her arm like a spring, taking practiced aim for the Defender's neck, as Elriin had taught her.

"Forge Fire!"

Liora spun around, eyes wide with surprise, but it was too late. The attack hit her square in the chest, sending her sailing through the air. She landed with a mighty splash into the river, the force completely submerging her in the water. She immediately came back up, breaking the churning surface of the water and taking a deep inhalation of air. She was immediately in a boiling rage, and angrily slapped the water in frustration. She had allowed herself to hesitate too long before destroying the Defender. Now he had eluded her grasp. She was ready to curse the Defenders more venomously than she had ever done, when she suddenly came to a disturbing realization. She looked around with her sightless eyes, fanning out her senses, but she couldn't sense a thing. No di-gata energy. Not even the strong energy signatures of the Defenders. The rushing water swirled around her body, blocking off any ability to sense the movements of those ashore, and the roar of the river filled her ears, pushing out any other sound. Liora felt herself stop breathing. There was nothing. She didn't know where she was, or where anything else was. It was just her, lost and powerless. The world spun around her, and everything suddenly plunged into a deep darkness.

EXTRA NOTE: Okay, this story might be on hiatus for about a week or so... I've got some serious cramming for finals to do . I left this chapter really long to try and hold you guys over until then!

Also, sorry for any lack of usual quality... I wrote most of this when I was home in a sick stupor...


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Well, okay, shorter hiatus than expected... you can thank Liora for that...

Liora: Enough babbling! Get back to work, I have to avenge my family!

...Whatever.

Disclaimer: Well, I guess it's safe to say Greg's not interested in trading with me, so the Di-Gata Defenders still belong to him, and Liora still belongs to me.

...Though I might just push her on someone else to be _their_ proble-- I mean... bundle of psychopathic joy... -cough-

**Chapter 5**

Eric watched with surprise as the girl who had just fought so ferociously against the leader of the Di-Gata Defenders suddenly went very still. His attack had probably been just in time. If he had waited a moment longer... he flinched, the memory of his sister's destruction still vivid in his memory. He just wasn't ready to lose anyone else. The attack had hit the girl right on target, pushing her off Seth and into the river. Now the girl was just standing there, wearing an expression of shock and fear. Suddenly, she blanched, the color draining from her face until her skin was a ghostly white. Then, the girl's eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and she collapsed into the foaming waters.

His surprise suddenly turned to horror. "The girl!" He yelled, pointing to the river. "She'll be swept away by the current!" He quickly flung off his stone pouch. "I'll go get her-!"

"No!"

He turned around in surprise. Mel was kneeling beside Seth, treating the gashes in his arm with her wizard magic. Eric suddenly realized how much of a bad shape his friend was in. His mechanical arm was practically destroyed, his face a pasty white shade from all the blood lost from the gashes riddling his good arm, and what looked like some kind of animal bite marked his right shoulder. All in all, it looked like he had taken quite the beating. But it wasn't Seth that had shouted out.

It was Mel.

She was trembling, her normal dark complexion quite a few shades lighter. A desperate, fearful look shone in her eyes. She looked almost on the verge of tears.

"Please Eric, that girl... she wants to destroy us all, I felt the hate inside her..." She tried to hold herself together. "If she had been given one more minute she would have destroyed Seth."

"But she's still a Radosian!" Rion piped up rebelliously. "It's our duty as Defenders to protect the people of Rados!"

"But..."

"Rion's right Mel." Eric said suddenly, cutting her off. "It was my Forge Fire cast that got her in the river. I'm not going to be responsible for the destruction of a Radosian." With that, he jumped into the frothing water of the river.

--

Mel watched fearfully as Eric emerged from the river, carrying the limp form of the girl in his arms. She had known it was the girl from her dream the moment she saw her. It wasn't her physical appearance, as Mel hadn't seen the girl very clearly in her dream, but the look on her face as she had prepared to do away with Seth. Mel shivered. It was the closest thing to evil she had ever seen in a Radosian. A soft tap on her arm brought her out of her thoughts.

"It's her, isn't it? The girl that was in your dream." Seth asked weakly.

Mel nodded. "Yes."

Seth closed his eyes. He looked like he was in pain. Mel wished she could heal faster. Seeing one of her friends in such a state was almost unbearable.

"I should have payed more attention to your dream, I should have figured out this would be a trap." He took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry I brought you all here. If she had found one of you instead of me... I'd never forgive myself."

"It's not your fault. You were doing your duty to the people of Rados. We thought someone was in trouble."

Seth nodded, but didn't look completely convinced. He looked over at the girl, lying unconscious on the damp grass as Eric scanned her for injuries with his gauntlet. He frowned. "The first thing we're going to do is take her to the nearest Yantos prison, where she won't be able to hurt anyone else."

Mel sighed. "Agreed."

"Hey, Mel!" Mel looked over to see Eric waving his arm, beckoning for her to come over. She turned back to Seth, with a bit of concern.

"Are you going to be okay for a few minutes?"

Seth scoffed. "What am I, a frail old man that can't be left alone for five minutes? Go ahead."

Mel stood up, crossing her arms indignantly. "Well fine! That'll teach me to ever worry about your well-being!" She stomped off before Seth could open his mouth to reply.

She walked over to Eric. "What is it?" She asked, her tone still frosty from talking to Seth.

Eric gave her a strange look in response to her hostility, but didn't press the matter. He turned to the girl, holding up a piece of tattered red cloth tied securely around her waist. "See this, here?"

Mel knelt down beside him. "A red sash. Does it signify something?"

Eric held up a finger, grinning with pride. "Exactly what came to my mind, so I ran a search on it. It wasn't easy mind you, these underground symbolism type things aren't well recorded."

"But you found something?"

He winked. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"So what does it symbolize?" Mel pressed anxiously.

"I managed to find some eye-witness accounts in various Radosian history texts," He said, tapping his gauntlet, "It identifies the wearer as an assassin working under an organization called the 'Red Guild'."

Mel swallowed. "So... she's an assassin, then? Sent to destroy _us_?"

Eric shrugged. "That's what it looks like."

Mel looked at the girl lying on the grass. Now that Mel was seeing her up close, with the girl's eyelids closed over those strange pale eyes, she suddenly realized how very normal she looked. Not like a monster from a dream, but an actual living, breathing Radosian. Her petite body was clothed fairly ordinarily, save for a thin dakosite chest plate that protected her upper torso, and an unusual pair of moccasins that she wore on her small feet. Her wet auburn hair was plastered around her face, a long braid curled limply on the grass beside her. Mel was suddenly struck by how _young_ the girl looked. Perhaps a year or two younger than herself. She seemed strangely small and vulnerable now, as Mel's dream-monster fear of the mysterious girl was dissipating. Then Mel remembered the look of pure unbridled hatred she had seen on the girl's face only minutes before, and the fear came tumbling back. She might look peaceful now, but Mel had glimpsed the monster dwelling within her. Mel stood up quickly.

"First thing tomorrow we're taking her to a Yantos prison."

"Tomorrow?" Eric looked up, startled. "Why tomorrow? What are we supposed to do with her until then?"

"Seth isn't in a good enough condition to do any traveling tonight." Mel cringed, preparing for what she would say next. "We'll have to keep her here. Just... make sure she can't destroy any of us in our sleep, okay?"

Eric nodded. "You've got it, Mel."

Mel took one last look at the girl before turning away. Morning couldn't come soon enough.

--

_The girl ran blindly through the forest, pushing through twisted branches and thick underbrush. Thorns and twigs snatched at her small arms and legs and tangled themselves in her hair, but she didn't stop. Her chest heaved with the effort of running so fast for so long, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. They were coming for her._

"_Over here!" She heard one of them call out. "I think she went this way, quickly!"_

_The girl's heart leapt into her throat. She didn't know why these people were chasing her, why they wanted to take her away from her home, from everything she knew. She couldn't think of anything she had done wrong. Her eyes filled with tears. The only thing she wanted in the whole world at that moment was to run into her father's strong arms, and to have her mother sing her sweet-sounding lullabies until she fell asleep, knowing everything would be alright._

_But her mother and father weren't here. And everything wouldn't be alright._

_Where had they gone? Where were mama and papa when the strange group of men came to the door? Why hadn't they been there to protect her, like they always had been before? Tears rolled down her cheek. She couldn't help but wonder if something terrible had happened to them. Had these men taken them away, like they were trying to take her away?_

_She darted under a low-hanging tree branch, dripping with some kind of mossy green growth. She flinched as the moss hit her face. She was blind, save for an unusual ability to sense the di-gata energy of large objects, and hadn't expected it. The child pushed her way through nonetheless. She wormed her way around tree trunks and boulders, trying to elude the men until, unexpectedly, when she took her next step her foot found nothing but air. She only had enough time to emit a small squeak of surprise before she was falling, pitching headlong down a rocky ravine. An sharp pain exploded like fireworks inside her skull as her head connected with a blunt stone, then there was nothing. She tumbled forward into darkness._

Liora awoke with a start, her chest heaving. She shakily brushed a thick lock of hair out of her face, and concentrated on regulating her heart rate. She had never remembered so much of that fateful day before, and it frightened her. It took her back to a time she had never known, before Elriin had found her and she had dedicated her life to being an assassin. Before she had learned to loath the Defenders for what they had done to her.

She suddenly realized she was already in a half-seated position, her body draped carefully over a large fallen tree stump. She tried to stand up, but something tugged at her wrist. Liora turned and glared irritably at a stone link tightly encircling her wrist, connected to a short chain shackling her securely to the stump. She massaged one temple with her free hand. What had happened? How long had she been out? She vaguely remembered the scene at the river. She had been caught off guard and flung into the water like a rag doll. She shivered at the memory of standing in the middle of that river. It was the closest thing to true blindness she had ever experienced. She hadn't been in control, she had suddenly been completely helpless, at the mercy of the world. Then she had fainted.

Liora fumed. If she had just done away with the Defender when she had the chance, none of this might have happened. She had made a mistake, letting her own feelings get in the way of common sense and her normal good judgement. She reached for the pouch at her side, but found nothing. The girl almost panicked for a brief moment, but quickly realized what had happened. The Defenders must have taken it from her after they retrieved her from the river. They didn't want her to have the chance to try again. Liora clenched her teeth. Of course, she herself would have done the same, but that didn't make her any less bitter. They were probably planning on taking her to some kind of prison. She almost laughed. The hypocrites! Like they were any better than her! She slouched against the stump. It didn't matter. She would escape, and come back to finish off the rest of the Defenders. She smiled menacingly. At least she could take some satisfaction in knowing their leader would be destroyed soon enough. Her Noctorn had seen to that. Yes, Noctorn was her safeguard. If she failed to destroy her victim, his poisonous bite would take care of it for her. Of course it would take some time, but in this case, Liora could wait. In fact, she almost liked the idea better. She only wished she could be there to watch as the leader of the Defenders was slowly destroyed from the inside, Noctorn's venom running through his veins. The venom would attack the outer extremities first, slowly working its way to the victim's center, where it would finally eat away at the person's di-gata energy from the inside out. She had never actually seen the poison's effects in the final stages, as it had never taken her that long to destroy an enemy, and was suddenly filled with a savage hunger to see it fully carried out on the leader of the Di-Gata Defenders.

She sensed the Defenders' camp a short distance in front of her. The fools thought she was finished, but she was nowhere near. She was only just beginning.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, since summer hit things have been pretty crazy... Don't worry, Liora made sure to rag on me the entire time.

Disclaimer: Di-Gata Defenders belong to Greg, and I'm still stuck with Miss Pain-in-the-Rear– -smack- Ow, hey!

**Chapter 6**

Seth watched wearily as the first pink rays of sunlight illuminated the horizon, night slowly transforming into the coming dawn. He sat up, deciding to abandon any further efforts to try to fall asleep. He had slept fitfully all night, dozing and waking intermittently. He rubbed his shoulder. The gashes on his arm were healing nicely, thanks to Mel's efforts, but his shoulder seemed to have worsened over the course of the night. He winced as his fingers brushed the tender skin around the small punctures where the guardian had sunk in its teeth. Mel's healing spells should have taken most of the edge off the pain by now. He sighed ruefully, slumping down on one elbow. Mel. He had behaved like such a fool yesterday, taking Mel's kindness and throwing it right back in her face. Why did he do these things? He squeezed his eyes shut, putting a hand over his face irritably. What had changed since they had left the dojo on their mission to find the purestones? Mel had been one of his closest friends, like Eric, or Kara, but now... something had changed. Their shared experiences had brought them closer together somehow. He now found he worried more about her whenever she entered her trances, and could often catch himself looking over his shoulder to check on her during a battle. It scared him, and he could feel himself trying to push her away, to distance himself from her. Maybe then things would return to normal, and he would be content to remain as nothing more than an old friend. Somehow though, deep in his heart, he wasn't sure if this was the type of thing that could be undone.

He stood up, stretching his stiff legs. He ran his eyes over their camp. The others were all fast asleep. Mel was on her side, her eyebrows twitching into a frown every so often from whatever she was dreaming, Rion was flat on his back, mumbling something indiscernible, and Eric was slumped over Seth's broken mechanical arm, tools still clutched firmly in hand, snoring soundly. Seth couldn't help but smile. These were the three people on Rados most dear to him. He massaged his shoulder again, as another jab of pain assailed it. He had been so close to losing all of them yesterday. He had been close to losing everything.

He looked over to the log they had secured the captured assassin to, and was startled to see her pale eyes staring back at him, wide awake. She grinned.

"Rough night?"

Seth turned away, his face burning. Somehow, he had the uncanny feeling that the girl knew everything he had been thinking this morning. And he didn't like the idea that he had been watched, unknowing, this whole time.

"You're going to prison. You'll never destroy another Radosian again." He said through clenched teeth.

The assassin laughed coldly. "Tough words. And I thought we were getting along so well." She winked. "You just make sure those walls are thick enough before you start sleeping too soundly, Defender."

--

Rion woke up with a yawn and a long stretch. He blinked against the morning sunlight filtering through the trees. Today would be another long day of riding the sigil stormers across Yantos. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Eric was awake already, and had resumed tinkering with Seth's mechanical arm. Mel was nearby picking Yantos berries for their breakfast, and Seth was busy poring over maps, presumably looking for the nearest high-security prison. He looked even grumpier than usual, in full 'leader of the Di-Gata Defenders' mode. Rion stood up, brushing bits of fallen leaves out of his cloak. Seth was usually tolerable, but Rion found it was impossible to talk to him when he was like this. Not that Seth was a bad leader, in fact, Rion had to grudgingly admit that he was a very capable leader of the Defenders. For some reason though, the two of them butted heads constantly.

Rion picked up his stones and began wandering around camp. It didn't help that he was now the youngest of the Defenders. He wasn't taken seriously. He had been trained as a Di-Gata Defender just as the others had, he was just as good as them! Yet when the time came to make decisions, his opinion seemed to matter very little. He crossed his arms, leaning against the rough bark of a tree. He fiddled with his stones absently, looking around their small clearing. His eyes came to rest on the assassin, sitting as still and silent as stone. He watched her with mounting curiosity. She looked a bit older than himself, but younger than the other Defenders. However, there was a sense that she had aged beyond her years. What really intrigued Rion, though, was how this young, blind girl had managed to win in a stonecast against Seth. Maybe Seth would start to take younger people seriously after all.

The girl's gaze suddenly swung to meet his, her blind eyes seeming to burn right through him as if she knew she was being watched. Rion hastily turned away, stumbling a bit in his hurry. Something about that blind gaze was simply unnerving. He snuck one last quick peek at the assassin from behind the tree. She was dangerous, that was for certain, but somehow that only made him all the more curious about her.

--

Mel placed one last handful of berries in her satchel and tightened the drawstring. She held up the bag, judging how long they would last them until they had to stop to eat again. She didn't want them to have to have any reason to stop until the assassin was safely behind bars. Only then would she allow herself to relax. As it was, she was already drawn as tight as a bowstring just knowing the girl was only a stone's throw away. Mel would be glad when it was all finally over. Cradling the sack in one arm, she stepped over to where Seth was looking over maps of Yantos. She tapped his arm, noticing that he had wrapped his shoulder. She frowned. It should have been healing by now.

Seth looked up from his maps. He gave her a tired smile. He looked as if he had hardly slept all night. "Just in time. I think I've found the place."

Mel held up her sack of berries. "Do you think this will hold us over until we get there?"

Seth shook his head. "We'll have to make a stop to pick up supplies on the way. The only real high-security prison is over half a day's ride from here."

Mel's face fell. Seth seemed to notice her worry, and quickly added, "But... it was a good idea... the berries, I mean. It's one less stop we'll have to make... so we'll be able to take care of the assassin sooner. Thanks Mel." He ran a hand through his dark hair uncomfortably.

Mel couldn't help but smile. He was trying to make up for yesterday. She wasn't really still angry with him, but she appreciated the effort nonetheless. "Rion and I will get the sigil stormers ready."

She walked away to find Rion, her spirits a little higher. They would be on their way soon, and after they dropped off the assassin they would finally be able to breathe easier. She sighed. Half a day, and then she could forget this whole thing.

--

Liora was in a foul mood. One of the Defenders had been restless last night, forcing her to stay awake to monitor any movement. Of course, she had been trained extensively in surveillance, and was used to staying awake for days on end in order to monitor a target. However, it still made her a bit irritable. Especially when she had to do it shackled to a log.

Her ears perked at the sound of movement. Two of the Defenders were hovering around their stormers, packing up their camp. One of them was the young Defender she had sensed watching her earlier. She laid back against her log, making herself more comfortable. It wasn't long now until they would all climb on their sigil stormers, and she would be on her way to a high-security Yantos prison cell. She grimaced. The Defenders should have been destroyed by now. Elriin would be ashamed if he could see her now.

Suddenly, another sound caught her attention. She pricked her ears, searching for it again. A rustling of leaves? Footsteps. Many footsteps. Light, quick. Her eyes widened in sudden realization. They were surrounding the camp. She used her heightened senses to seek out the concealed intruders. They all carried powerful stones, and moved swiftly and silently through the thick underbrush. She frowned. Thieves. Of course, she had known this area was swarming with thieves and bandits when she had picked it, to add authenticity to her ruse that she had been attacked by bandits. She probed the area with her senses, trying to determine their strength. Her frown deepened. She counted many. Too many. Every thief knew that the Di-Gata Defenders carried powerful, valuable stones, and the presence of their sigil stormers only added to the value of a raid. Liora suddenly sat up straight, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. The Defenders would be weak now, taken by surprise with their leader already wounded and unable to cast. Her eyes widened in horror. In the state they were in, it was a very real possibility that they would be destroyed in their battle with the thieves. Liora clenched her teeth. She had waited too long for her revenge to be stolen from her by some rag-tag group of bandits.

"Hey!" She yelled. "Hey you, Defenders!"

She sensed some of them look up from their business, but it was not quick enough. With a collective battle cry the thieves swarmed the camp, stones hot in their hands.

Liora cursed under her breath. She pulled on her chain desperately, trying to rip it out of the log, but it was buried too deeply into the wood. She looked around wildly. She could sense di-gata stones being cast, and heard the leaders of both sides shouting commands to their comrades. The Defenders were already being pushed back, most of them just now retrieving their stones to do battle. Liora sensed the strength of the thieves' attacks. The Defenders' shields wouldn't hold, and they were being spread apart. She clenched her fists. She couldn't let her only chance at avenging her family slip through her fingers.

"Hey!" She screamed above the di-gata energy blasts. "Over here! Let me go!"

They were ignoring her, focusing on the battle. Liora fumed. She stood up as far as she could, waving her arm wildly. "Hey! I can fight! Release me!"

She seemed to have caught the attention of one of the Di-Gata Defenders. She sensed the Defender hesitate, then finally seem to make their decision. With a cry of protest from one of their teammates, they slipped what Liora assumed had to be the key from the other Defender's pouch, and ran over to her, narrowly missing attacks from the surrounding thieves. The Defender came to a stop in front of her, out of breath. Liora suddenly realized it was the young boy again. He clutched the key protectively in his hand.

"How do I know you'll help us?" He questioned her, eying her warily.

"Those thugs are interfering with my contract." She grinned. "If anyone's going to destroy you Defenders, it's going to be me."

"As comforting as that is..."

"Listen," Liora snapped, "nobody messes with one of _my_ contracts. Let me go and..." She cringed. "I... I swear on my sigil energy that you will not be harmed by my hand on this day."

The boy hesitated. Liora heard a yell from one of the Defenders, and this seemed to make up his mind. He inserted the key into the lock at Liora's wrist. With a click, the shackle fell off and Liora was free. She stood up, stretching her cramped muscles. The boy stood where he was, uncertain as to what she would really do now that she was free.

Liora turned in the direction of the battle. She could sense that the Defenders were losing, the bandits closing in all around them. They fought bravely, but it wasn't enough. She took a deep breath. She was about to risk her own life to save her enemy's. The irony tore at her inside, sickening her to nauseousness, but she locked it in. It was the only way to ensure that she alone would be the one to finally finish off the Defenders, and at last put the final nagging piece of her old life to rest. Only then could she move on with her life, and leave everything behind her. She needed it, and she needed it desperately. And she would do anything, even a temporary alliance with the very people she wanted to destroy so badly, to get it.

With these final thoughts, she ran straight into the fray, to fight side by side with her lifelong enemies, the Di-Gata Defenders.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Wow, we're at chapter 7 already, and we're only just getting started with the story... heh heh... I'm the queen of 'taking my time'.

SOOOOOOOOO sorry for the super-long delay. I've started working at my mom's office, and have been going out of town a lot so... poor Liora kinda went by the wayside. I'll try to get chapters done faster in the future, but still expect there to be some delay between them.

Disclaimer: The Di-Gata Defenders belong to Greg, and I'm still Liora's writing slave... -glare-

**Chapter 7**

Seth watched helplessly as the hoard of bandits surged around them, cutting off any possible escape route. He clutched the stub of his right arm. Eric hadn't yet finished the repairs on his mechanical arm. Without the ability to cast, he could be of no use to the others. Still, he refused to succumb to his weakness. He shouted instructions to the other Defenders with a strong, commanding voice, not allowing the others to see the fear he felt bubbling up inside him. He ducked to avoid a bandit's stonecast. There were too many of them. And he couldn't cast. He grit his teeth. He couldn't do anything to help the others. He was the one that had gotten them into this whole mess in the first place. Now he was powerless to get them out. If they were destroyed, it would be his fault.

"Move, dako-brain!"

Seth turned just in time to get a sharp kick in the gut. As he fell, a glowing orb of energy sailed through the air where he had been standing only moments before. He hit the ground, the wind knocked out of him. His chest heaved as he tried to regain his breath. If he had stood there a moment longer, he would have been finished. He looked up, startled as he locked eyes with none other than the assassin. She blew a loose strand of hair out of her face, her sightless eyes blazing.

Seth struggled as he pulled himself up. He gripped his shoulder, another wave of pain hitting it as he straightened up. He glared at her, clenching his teeth. "You."

"You're welcome." She spat back over the din of di-gata stonecasts. The girl turned to deliver a hard kick to a thief that had been creeping up behind her. The man clutched his stomach and crumpled to the ground.

"What are you doing? How did you escape?" Seth glanced around him. The bandits had cut him off from the rest of his teammates. He clenched his fist. He was trapped.

"Aren't _we_ full of questions." The girl growled irritably. "Listen, right now I'm the only thing standing between you and a horde of bloodthirsty thieves. So just stay out of my way, and try not to get yourself destroyed." She turned again, this time making a precise blow to a thief's left temple. He too fell to the ground, unmoving.

Seth narrowed his eyes. He was the leader of the Di-Gata Defenders. He wasn't going to be cast aside as a helpless burden. He glanced around him, looking for some kind of weapon. Seth finally settled for a thick low-hanging dead branch. With a mighty pull, he ripped the branch off the tree. It was an awkward weapon, made all the worse by the fact that Seth could only use one hand to wield it, but it was better than nothing. Hefting the branch like a club, he swung at the nearest bandit's head. The man hadn't been expecting the blow, and fell like a pile of bricks. The other thieves, who had apparently written the one-handed boy off as not being a threat now looked in his direction. Seth dropped, rolling across the earth, leaves crackling under him, to avoid their casts. The thieves readied their stones for a second strike. This time, an idea sparked inside Seth's head. Jumping out of the way, he instead swung his branch in front of the attacks. A fire-based cast whipped past the branch, setting it alight. Seth smiled as he gripped the fiery branch, watching as the nearest bandits shrank back from the flame. It would buy him some time, but it wouldn't be long before the more daring of the group came to confront him. Beads of sweat formed like dew on his forehead. His shoulder was throbbing, with every move seeming to intensify the pain. The thieves were once again advancing toward him. Seth swallowed hard, blocking out the pain, and held the blazing branch high, waving it back and forth.

"Stay where you are, if you know what's good for you!" Seth blazed.

One of the thieves laughed, sparking a cacophony of laughter from his comrades. He sneered. "A kid with a fiery stick, who can't even cast, against all of us? Somehow sonny, I think it's you who should be shaking in yer boots!" He took a menacing step forward, flashing a handful of stones.

Seth took an involuntary step backward, startled as his back thumped against something solid. He turned his head to find that he was standing back-to-back with the assassin, the girl looking just as startled as he was. The surprise vanished from her face as quickly as it had appeared, and her face was stony and cold once more. Her lip was bleeding, and her hair was unruly and plastered with sweat.

"I take it things are going well at your end?" She grumbled, turning her head back to face her own attackers. "Nice stick."

Seth turned away from her. This girl was the last person in all of Rados that he wanted fighting beside him. The small hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the thought of having his back turned to an assassin that had tried to destroy him only yesterday. How had she freed herself? Why now was she helping him? She didn't exactly strike him as the type who would come to the aid of someone in need. It was obvious to him that she must have an ulterior motive, and whatever that motive was, Seth had a churning feeling in his stomach that he wouldn't like it.

"You know, I'd probably have most of these goons taken care of by now if I had my stones." The girl hissed behind him.

"What do you take me for? A fool?" Seth shot back, eyeing the thieves as they advanced further, his hand slick with sweat as he clutched his branch.

"If the shoe fits, stumpy."

Seth didn't allow himself to wonder how this blind girl had known about his useless arm. He grit his teeth, hefting the branch into a more comfortable position, allowing his hand to breathe. He didn't have much more time before the branch burned down to the bottom. Then he would be left without any weapon at all. He narrowed his eyes. "We need to cut a path back to the others. We might stand a chance if we're not spread so thin."

"I don't take orders from you." She hissed.

Seth ignored her, instead focusing his attention on finding signs of the other Defenders over the heads of the bandits. He was at last rewarded with the familiar cry of Mel's guardian Draykor. He smiled as he saw the dragon sail into the sky to his right. They would be in that direction. With a yell, he ran into the crowd of thieves, swinging his branch like a madman in a wide arc. Some of the more cautious of the group jumped back to avoid his strike, but others were either hit or burned, letting out cries of pain. More thieves came to challenge him. Seth swung again, but the bandits evaded him, moving in to tackle him to the ground.

The girl was there in an instant, and in a flash of movement swung herself around, sticking her leg out in a bone-shattering kick that connected with the nearest bandit's kneecap. The man fell to his knees with a cry of agony, arms wrapped around his injured knee.

"Get a move on, Defender!" The girl yelled as she sprung into the air to knock another thief to the ground.

Seth swung his flaming branch again, continuing his mad dash in the direction of the other Defenders. The girl was beside him, knocking to the ground anyone who got in her way.

"I thought you didn't take orders from me." Seth remarked sarcastically.

"I had the idea before you said it." The girl muttered irritably.

Seth swung one last time, knocking another bandit out of the way, and finally saw Eric and Mel. They were fighting hard, but aside from the odd scrapes and bruises seemed to be alright. Seth didn't allow himself time to be relieved. They were still far from being out of the woods yet.

"Eric! Mel!" Seth shouted.

They turned, both looking relieved to see that he was still in one piece. Their relief, however, turned to a mixture of shock and fear as they saw the assassin emerge from the crowd of bandits.

"Seth, behind you!" Mel cried out, her eyes wide with fear.

"It's okay Mel, for some reason, she seems to be helping us." He touched her arm, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Just don't let her out of your sight."

Mel nodded. "But how did she escape?"

"Not even a hint of gratitude." The girl suddenly cut in, " Honestly, it's no wonder you guys have so many enemies." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"We'll take care of that later." Seth replied, ignoring the girl. "Where's Rion?"

"We lost him a while back." Mel said quietly, concern seeping into her voice. "He just ran off."

"Yeah, and he took my key!" Eric added, blasting at a handful of thieves with his gauntlet. His eyes suddenly widened in realization as he looked at the assassin. "You don't think it was _Rion_ that...?"

Seth turned, grabbing the girl by the front of her short cape. The girl clenched her fists, glaring at him, but didn't retaliate.

"Where's Rion?" He growled. "What did you do to him?"

"Silver Orb!"

Seth turned to see the boy emerge from the crowd of bandits, a cocky smile on his face. "Did you guys miss me?"

Seth released the assassin. "Rion, we need to talk!"

"Not now! I think we've got something a bit more immediate to take care of!" Rion pointed toward the bandits.

Seth grudgingly agreed. "Everyone in Ogama Formation!"

His teammates complied, readying their stones. The thieves seemed to have stopped advancing, a bit less confident now that all four Defenders were together and in formation. A big, burly man with a shaggy, unkept brown beard stepped forward, with some reverence from the crowd. This was obviously their leader. He stopped after a few paces, and crossed his arms, smirking.

"Come come now, kids. We ain't wantin' any'un gettin' destroyed here... Just give us yer stones before ye do anythin' stupid."

Seth clenched his fist. "A Defender never gives in, especially to a gang of thieves."

"A stunning show of diplomacy, Dako-brain." The assassin muttered from beside him.

"I sure don't remember you being very diplomatic yourself yesterday." He shot back.

The girl didn't pay him any attention. Instead, much to Seth's surprise, she walked up to the leader of the bandits.

--

Liora planted her feet in front of the man, arms crossed irritably over her chest. The man suddenly seemed surprised.

"You're not a Defender."

"You bet your Di-Gata energy I'm not." She spat. "I'm something much more dangerous." She flashed the sash tied around her waist.

She heard the man take a sharp intake of breath, then compose himself again. "If you're fixin' to scare me, I think I've got ye a bit outnumbered girly."

Liora frowned in annoyance at the term 'girly'. She lowered her voice. "Look, I'm here to cut a deal. The Defenders aren't just going to give you their stones. It will be a long battle, and I'm willing to bet that it will be your thugs that take the most hits. You want the most profit with the least toll on your gang."

"Obviously." The man grunted. "And how exactly will I be doin' this?"

"Take the Sigil Stormers. The parts alone will fetch a decent price from any marketplace."

Liora felt the man's eyes on her, summing her up. "Why're you so concerned with these kids?"

The girl frowned. "I have a contract to destroy them. One which you're interfering with, by the way."

She heard the man throw back his head in a deep bellowing laugh. "So that's what this here thing's all about, then. If I destroy'em, the girly don't get her pay." Liora felt his hot breath on her face as he leaned toward her. She scrunched up her nose. His breath smelled stale and rotten.

"You put up a good bargain, girly, but I think I've got one even better. How's about I take the Stormers, destroy them Defenders, take they're stones, and collect you're payment?"

Liora glared at him. "I wouldn't advise that." Her voice had a chilling tone to it.

"And why not?"

"Because you're life is in my hands right now. There are three other assassins posted around this area, watching us right now. All I have to do is give them the signal..." She lifted her fist, her arm bent at a ninety degree angle. She was lying through her teeth of course, assassins always executed their assignments alone, but this man struck her as someone who wouldn't be too aware of assassin protocols. "Care to find out where di-gata energy goes once it's left the body?"

This seemed to have shaken the man, and Liora could sense him looking around suspiciously, expecting an attack.

"Take the Sigil Stormers, pack up your gang, and you leave with your life." She hissed menacingly.

The man did nothing for a moment, then, seeming to have made up his mind, he gave a signal to his group. Liora sensed the man turn around, back toward his group, without another word. The bandits began to move back.

Smiling, the girl turned back to the Defenders. She could sense that their leader was frowning, suspicious.

"What did you tell him? How did you get them to leave?"

She winked. "Diplomacy."

The roar of engines starting suddenly filled the clearing.

"The Stormers!" One of the Defenders yelled. "They're taking the Stormers!"

It was too late. Liora sensed with satisfaction as the Sigil Stormers roared off through the forest, too fast to catch on foot. She smiled.

She sensed the leader whirl around to face her. "You! You gave them the Stormers!"

"Lay off, Seth! There were too many of them! She had to make some kind of deal!" The smallest Defender piped up.

"You're in enough trouble right now as it is, shortstone." The leader growled. "Don't push it."

She sensed him move off to discuss a new course of action with the other two Defenders, leaving the smaller Defender to stew by himself. Liora sensed the young Defender look up at her.

"You're bleeding." He said suddenly.

Surprised, Liora touched her fingers to her lip. Sure enough, her lip and chin were slick with blood.

"Come on, you can wash it off at the river." He took her arm, leading her in that direction.

Liora snatched her arm away. "I can walk there myself, I don't need you to lead me."

The boy seemed embarrassed and didn't say another word. Liora knelt down by the river's edge, splashing water on her face. The cold water was refreshing, and she began to feel better. The young Defender was sitting beside her, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"If there's something you're wanting to say, spit it out."

He seemed surprised, if not spooked by her perceptiveness, and hugged his knees. "I just wanted to thank you for helping us out. I know Seth gave you a hard time, but he doesn't know everything. Even if he acts like he does."

Liora sensed some pent-up bitterness behind the words. It seemed that for all their appearances of being a well-working team, there was a bit of a rift between some of the Defenders. She sat in thought for a moment. This was information she might be able to work with.

The silence lasted too long, and the boy became antsy again. He stood up. "Well, I just wanted you to know that someone appreciates what you did."

Liora sat with her sightless eyes staring out at nothing in particular, listening to the Defender's footsteps as he walked away. A thought suddenly struck her. This young Defender was beginning to trust her. Not completely, of course, but that hint of trust was still there. She thought about it for a moment. She couldn't leave anyway, the Defenders still had her stones hidden somewhere. If she could get the Defenders to let their guard down around her, maybe even return her stones to her...

She rubbed her head. It would mean she would have to pretend to become close to the Defenders. The mere thought of it made her sick. The idea of engaging in casual conversation with the children of the people who destroyed her parents was enough to make her go insane. She clenched her fists. She had been trained by the Red Guild. She had prepared for years to destroy the Di-Gata Defenders. Now was her chance. Victory was so close. Liora squeezed her eyes shut. She would do it. She would make them pay, whatever it took.

And then it would finally be over.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Whooooooaaaaahhhhh...

...that was one LONG wait. Sorry guys, I got caught up doing a bunch of my own projects that I've been neglecting, and, well, neglected this...

Much to the aggravation of Liora, I assure you. She's not very happy with me right now...

Liora: ...-smack-

See? She doesn't even give me snippy comments anymore. Ow... -rubs bruise-

**Chapter 8**

Rion's footsteps were heavy as he plodded back into the clearing. He knew what he should expect from the others when he joined them. Seth would be up on his high-horse, berating him for releasing the assassin and 'putting the whole team at risk'. Rion wrapped his arms around himself angrily. Putting the team at risk? Letting the assassin go had probably saved all their lives. He knew from experience, however, that Seth would never see it that way. There was no reasoning with him. The leader of the Di-Gata Defenders was about as flexible and understanding as a brick of dakosite.

When he reached the others, the reaction was just as he expected. Seth looked up from his discussion with Melosa and Eric, his expression stony and cold.

"Shortstone." He growled.

Rion clenched his teeth. That nickname! Seth's usage of the humiliating nickname only added insult to injury, and they both knew it.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Excuse me if I don't feel too compelled to grant your wishes right now." His expression hardened even further. "Do you know what you almost did? What could have happened?"

Rion kept his mouth shut, fuming silently. Do you know that I probably just saved all of our lives? He looked over at Mel, looking for her intervention. He could usually count on her to get Seth to lay off. She was the only one that had even a chance of getting through to him. However, Rion was startled to see that she wouldn't meet his gaze. She was taking Seth's side.

Seth continued, his voice brittle. "She could have destroyed us all, Rion. Don't you get it?" His expression cracked for the briefest of moments, revealing something a strange vulnerability Rion had never before seen in his leader, but it was gone faster than it came. "_All_ of us."

Rion frowned, glaring up at the leader of the Di-Gata Defenders. "You just can't handle that someone younger than you could beat you like she did. It's all your dumb ego! She's got you scared, that if she would have had just a couple more seconds-"

"Rion!"

Rion turned his head to look at Mel. Her eyes were wide, and Rion noticed her trembling slightly.

"Rion, don't ever... don't ever say something like that again." She whispered.

Rion's frown fell. He had gone too far. He hadn't meant to, but he had, and he knew it. Even Seth seemed to have grown a shade paler, genuine shock written across his face at Rion's outburst.

Rion looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry." He muttered grudgingly.

Seth didn't answer him, instead turning his back on the young Defender and walking over to the map he had spread across a stump. Rion frowned, turning away as well. There would be no apologizing to Seth. No reasoning. About as much flexibility and understanding as a brick of dakosite. About as much feeling, too.

He stormed off, too quickly to notice Seth grip his shoulder, face twisting to conceal another wave of pain.

--

Seth stood hunching over the map, sweat beading on his forehead as he fought off the pain gripping his shoulder once more.

"Seth, are you okay?"

Seth looked over into the concerned blue eyes of Melosa. He forced a weak smile onto his face. "Yeah." His face fell, and he turned back to the map, eyes closed. "But Rion..."

"Didn't know what he was talking about." Eric cut in. "Look, we've all been under a lot of stress lately. We all make bad decisions. You've just been getting under his skin lately. This was his way of venting it out of his system."

"It didn't sound to me like it was anywhere near out of his system." Seth heaved a sigh, opening his eyes. "Eric, I want you to go down to the river and retrieve the assassin. She shouldn't be too much trouble without her stones, but keep a sharp eye in any case. Don't let her get out of your line of vision."

Eric nodded and headed off, gauntlet at the ready, leaving Seth and Mel alone in the clearing.

"So, what's really up, Seth?"

Seth looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've been keeping something from us. I can tell." She crossed her arms, waiting for a reply.

Seth looked at her, her dark-skinned face framed by flowing strands of icy white hair. Her deep blue eyes were set in an expectant frown, red lips curled downward. _You can tell a secret I've been keeping for barely more than a day, but you can't tell the one I've been keeping much longer, can you? You have no idea. How I feel when you look at me..._

"I haven't been keeping anything." Seth replied gruffly, turning back to his map before Mel had time to protest. "Without the Stormers, we'll have to take a different route. A longer one. We'll still have to worry about thieves, but it's the safest route we can manage. We'll have to go through Altamor to Sumos, there's another prison there that should be more than enough to contain our assassin. Still, we'll have to go on foot... meaning it could take us at least a week before we reach it."

"A week?" Mel's eyes widened. "Isn't there a shorter way?"

Seth put an arm on her shoulder. "We'll be fine, Mel. I promise." Her answering smile gave his heart butterflies.

"Well, well, now... we're not interrupting anything, are we?"

Seth turned to see the assassin, Eric behind her, his gauntlet trained defensively on her back. Seth felt his face grow hot. He didn't respond.

Eric laughed, filling in what would have been an awkward silence. "Seth and Mel?" His hearty laughter filled the clearing. "Wouldn't that be the day!"

Seth flinched. _Thanks, Eric..._

The amused smirk didn't leave the assassin's face.

--

_The leader and the wizard. The plot thickens..._

The girl's smirk widened. She was learning more and more about her enemies every minute. She glanced behind her. The large young man in charge of guarding her was still thoroughly amused with the thought of his leader and the wizard in such a relationship... much to the frustration of the leader, she sensed. The gauntlet wasn't even properly trained on her. The assassin rolled her eyes. It was absolutely grating on Liora's nerves how easy it would be to escape her captors... maybe even giving this hulking young man a few injuries in the process, just for a bit of sport. But she wouldn't. She would restrain herself. She needed her stones, her guardian among them. She frowned, a sudden spurt of sadness trickling into her heart. She missed the familiar weight of her guardian stone in her hand. She had temporarily lost her best friend. Oh, well. Just one more bit of fuel she would add to her burning hatred of the Di-Gata Defenders. She smiled, suddenly. Besides, this way, she would have a front-seat view to observe the effects of Noctorn's poison on the leader of the Defenders. All things considered, it was well worth the occasional irritation.

The young man behind her was now almost in hysterics, his gauntlet bobbing up and down like a child playing leap-along. It was just too much. Liora sighed.

"If you don't mind, you're getting a bit sloppy with that gauntlet. You want to be holding it straight and still, aimed right between the shoulders." She tapped said area of her back.

The Defender stopped laughing immediately, snapping back to attention, positioning his gauntlet as he was told. "Thanks."

The assassin shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a giver."

She heard the leader let out an exasperated groan, then turn back to his map, not so much to actually look at the map, but to have some excuse not to regard her. Liora grinned, eyes shining. _You try to hide it, but I see you weakening even now. You will have the honor of being the first Defender to fall._

She sensed the Defender rub his shoulder, as if in answer to her thoughts, and her grin widened. _In these next few days, Defender... you will feel all the pain you have caused me. How does it feel to be alone, Defender?_


End file.
